HISTORY TERM 2

Question 1

What is the Common Era?

Answer 1

The time from when Christians believe that Christ was born, which was year 1 CE.
e.g. this year is 2025 CE
CE used to be called AD

Question 2

What is BCE?

Answer 2

BCE = Before Common Era
i.e. years counted backwards from when Christians believe Christ was born

Question 3

Why do we use CE instead of AD?

Answer 3

CE is more INCLUSIVE as it doesn’t refer to a particular religion

Question 4

When did the first African farmers migrate to the southern Africa

Answer 4

about 250 CE about 1800 years ago, in the IRON AGE

Question 5

Where did the first African farmers in Southern Africa come from?

Answer 5

Central and Eastern Africa, from countries now known as Nigera and Cameroon

Question 6

By 500 CE, where has the early African farming communities settled?

Answer 6

Limpopo and Mpumalanga in South Africa
Parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana

Question 7

What did the first African farmers bring with them? (3 things)

Answer 7

1. Agriculture (grew crops like millet and sorghum)
2. Iron-working skills
3. Domesticated animals (like cattle, goats and sheep)

Question 8

What played a major role in shaping languages, cultures and societies of Southern Africa?

Answer 8

the Bantu expansion

Question 9

Why did first African farmers migrate to South Africa?

Answer 9

1. Better land (more people needed more fertile land)
2. Climate changes (doughts etc in central Africa) and they needed summer rainfall
3. Iron-working advantages (tools made it easier to farm new land)
4. Overcrowding and conflict (some people moved away)
5. Exploration and trade

Question 10

By when had farmers from further north settle ALL over South Africa?

Answer 10

around 650 CE

Question 11

What crops did the first farmers in South Africa grow?

Answer 11

Sorghum and millet

Question 12

What things did the first farmers do apart from growing crops and hearding cattle/sheep?

Answer 12

they were ironworker,
some made potter and
some traded in ivory

Question 13

What were the first farmers settlements called?

Answer 13

Homesteads

Question 14

Describe a homestead belonging to one of the first farmers?

Answer 14

A GROUP of households (huts for each wife and her children) in a YARD in a CIRCLE with the farmer’s cattle KRAAL at the centre make up a homestead

Question 15

What is a household (for early farmers in SA)

Answer 15

A place where a wife and her children lived

Question 16

What was a village of early farmers in SA made up of?

Answer 16

Many homesteads (where each farmer lived with their wives, children and cattle)

Question 17

Who was in control of a village of early farmers?

Answer 17

A chief, what was the wealthiest and owned the largest homestead in the village

Question 18

How did early farmers measure their wealth?

Answer 18

by the size of their herd of livestock

Question 19

Who was in charge of a homestead?

Answer 19

the headman

Question 20

Who reported to the chief of a village?

Answer 20

the headmen

Question 21

Why did the early farmers in South Africa live in MUCH LARGER groups than the San and Khoikhoi?

Answer 21

they needed more people to work on the farms and care for the cattle

Question 22

Who ruled the villages of the early farmers in South Africa

Answer 22

they were ruled by a king or chief

Question 23

What did the early farmers TRADE or barter their extra cattle and crops for?

Answer 23

things they did not have
like beads and cloth

Question 24

What tools did the early farmers use?

Answer 24

metal tools like axes and hoes

Question 25

What did the women in the early farming villages do and why did they stop?

Answer 25

they farmed the land until ploughs were introduced

Question 26

Why were women not allowed to use the ploughs?

Answer 26

because cattle were needed to pull them and women were not allowed to handle the cattle

Question 27

Did the first farmers co-exist peacefully with Khoikhoi and WHY?

Answer 27

No because their lifestyles were different and they clashed with each other